Francis Bacon, back in the
17th Century, became known as the father of what we have called the “scientific
method.” He was a true renaissance
person. In addition to science, politics,
and some very bad personal economics, he was also a philosopher. “The Essays” of Francis Bacon were first
published in 1601. They included his
thoughts and meanderings over a wide range of topics. It reads a little like the wisdom books of
scripture as he tackled subjects like death, hope, families, love, greed, envy,
vanity and a host of others. One
particular essay is “Of Revenge.” In
that essay he touches on a subject closely related to the words of Jesus in
this morning’s Gospel lesson.
“That which is past is gone,
and irrevocable; and wise men have enough to do, with things present and to
come; therefore they do but trifle with themselves, that labor in past matters.”1
In response to someone who
told Jesus they would follow him right after they took care of a funeral, Jesus
says: “Let the
dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those
at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and
looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. [
Luke 9:60-62]”
Then, quoting the 16th
Century Grand Duke of Florence, Cosmus de Medici, Bacon writes: “You shall read
that we are commanded to forgive our enemies; but you never read, that we are
commanded to forgive our friends.”2
In Matthew 18:15, Jesus says:
“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out
the fault when the two of you are alone.”
Sometimes we mistakenly think
of the Gospels as “other worldly.” Most
of the Gospel message indeed pertains to this world but here in particular
Jesus is clearly giving instructions that cannot be mistaken for anything other
than practical advice.
Just preceding this advice,
Jesus had told the parable about how God, whose love is unending, seeks out the
lost. He knows that the reign of God is very
near, but he also knows that the disciples he has called are still human. They will disagree. They will pout. The more they disagree, the more they pout,
the further they will go from God’s will for them. So he proposes a very direct and simple behavior
in the face of conflict.
Resolve it. Quickly.
Directly! Do it one-on-one, in
private. If that doesn’t work then take
two or three others with you and try again to resolve it. If that doesn’t work then try again in the
presence of the entire assembly. But
settle it. Resolve it. There is too much work to be done to waste
time on these disagreements.
Here’s the point: I think that most of us agree with
Cosmus. We think that we can show our
love for Christ by supporting foreign missions, or even mission outreach here
in the community. But don’t tell me that
I have to show the love of Christ by the way in which I treat one of you!
Well, Cosmus may have
understood human behavior, but he wasn’t very familiar with the words of
Jesus. We are commanded to forgive our
friends and love them. We are commanded
to live together – within the congregation – as an assembly of people who know
that we are commanded to forgive and love one another. I’m willing to bet that Cosmus had such an
acute understanding of human nature that if we lived just within this
congregation in the way Jesus COMMANDS us to live, then the people out there
would be amazed. The people out there
might look at this congregation and say “How do they do that?!”
But “how” is the wrong
question. We don’t start with the
“how.” It’s not about methodology. It’s about the very source of our faith. It’s about the “why” not the “how.”
We do it because Jesus told
us to do it. We do it because it keeps us from falling away from God’s will for
us.
This morning we celebrate the
Holy Eucharist. That’s a fancy word for
saying that we celebrate our gratitude to God as we remember the sacrifice that
marks God’s love for us. No one in this
room, no one in this world, has done anything that earns for them a place at
this table. No one in this room is any
less a sinner than anyone else in this room.
Regardless of the status or the wealth that the world may have bestowed
on us, we all come to this table as equals.
We all come to this table as sinners.
We all come to this table loved and forgive by a God whose love never
ceases.
So when you come to this
table don’t thank God for all the things that the world has given you. Come to this table thanking God for what God
gives to us every day, fresh and new. God’s
love and forgiveness. Then look around
you. Hear the words of Jesus. Love one another. Reconcile with one another. Forgive one
another. Make this assembly – for it is
the assembly of you that makes this a church not the building we are in – make
this assembly a gathering that will make the world like the crowds who often
heard Jesus: they were astounded.
Amen.
____________________________________________________
Notes:
1.http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/bacon/francis/b12e/essay4.html Bacon, Francis, 1561-1626
(2014-02-26T06:57:52.069274+00:00). The Essays (Kindle Locations 249-250). The
University of Adelaide Library. Kindle Edition.
2.http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/bacon/francis/b12e/essay4.html Bacon, Francis, 1561-1626 (2014-02-26T06:57:52.069274+00:00).
The Essays (Kindle Locations 249-250). The University of Adelaide Library.
Kindle Edition.
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